The Hart Family

HOMETOWN: Calgary, Alberta
"Canada's first family of wrestling"

There isn't much to be said about the Hart Family that hasn't already been
said.

No other family has had so many family members involved inside and outside
the ring as the Harts. The Rougeaus come close, but can't really compete.
Some have
even called the Harts the First Family of Canadian Sport. While they may not
be THE
First Family, they certainly belong in the same sentence as the Conachers,
the Howes
and the Sutters.

Stu Hart, born May
3, 1915 in Saskatoon, was a great amateur wrestler for Canada, but because of the Second
World War, he was denied his chance to compete in the Olympics. He was also a
standout center for the Edmonton Eskimos. Stu turned to pro wrestling under the
tutelage of
Toots Mondt, and wrestled for more than four decades.

It wasn't long until he began promoting, first in Edmonton in 1948, and
then in
1951 after making some money in real estate when he bought into Calgary's
Stampede
promotion for $50,000.

But in between those three years, a more important decision was made. On
December 31, 1947 he married American Helen Smith in New York City. She was the
daughter of Harry Smith, a miler at the 1912 Olympics. Their marriage
provided the
foundation in so many ways for the mini-wrestling empire to come.

They had twelve children -- eight sons and four daughters -- and all
had something to do with the Stampede Wrestling Promotion over the years,
whether it was as a performer or behind the scenes. (The promotion actually started as Big Time Wrestling, then became Wildcat Wrestling, then finally Stampede.)

In order, here are the siblings:

Smith (wrestled for a time)

Bruce (hit his peak teaming with Brian Pillman as Bad Company in the late 80s. Currently promoting and teaching at the Hart Brothers school.)

In the February 1993 issue of Saturday Night, Bret talked about his sisters. "My
sisters were
tough enough for any of us to duke it out with. It was a no-win situation.
My father was
especially partial to the girls. If you were caught laying a finger on your
sister, you had
to deal with old Stu."

The Harts are also well-known for their Foothills Athletic Club, home to The
Dungeon (in the Hart family home) where many great wrestlers were trained.
To name a
few (besides the Harts themselves): Dynamite Kid, Junkyard Dog, Chris Benoit, Brian Pillman. Their
twenty-room home, the Hart House, was a home-away-from-home for wrestlers on
the
Stampede circuit and those training in the Dungeon.

The wrestling business wasn't quite Helen's 'cup of tea', as Keith Hart talked
about in an article with a Calgary newspaper. "One of the blessings from
wrestling that
my mom doesn't really see is how it's kept the whole family together.
There's been a lot
of fights, a lot of friction over the years, but somehow the wrestling is
what binds
everyone together. It's the cement of the family."

On many occasions she encouraged her husband to retire from the game.
Stampede Wrestling closed its doors September 14, 1984 when Stu sold the
local rights
to Titan Sports (the WWF) and the Calgary Boxing and Wrestling Commission
was on
his back over excessive violence. One year later, Stampede was back. This
time it lasted
until 1990, when he retired from promoting for good.

Helen described the business relationship she had with her husband in January
1990 to a Calgary Newspaper. "We did work side-by-side. It worked out well
for us
because he's very good at domestic things. He'd be cooking supper and I'd be
on the
phone, sending out releases, doing posters or letters."

This short bio of the Hart Family hardly does them justice. After all, Bret
Hart's
been called Calgary's most recognized export. And all of wrestling is
thankful for the
contribution from the rest of the Harts over the years.

The Stu Hart Interview

On Wednesday, November 26, 1997 Greg Oliver sat down for a one
hour chat with the legendary Stu Hart at the
Hart House in Calgary. The first part of the interview is mainly
questions sent in by readers of SLAM! Wrestling.